Snakadaktal at the Metro Theatre 30/08/2013 - Live Review

The want for moody and introspective electro-pop was satisfied by means of Moon Holiday, the venture of mirage-esque Alex Ward; who expressed the vocal austerity of Cocteau Twins in alignment with PJ Harvey’s boyish disposition. At hand, she was with a midi keyboard and Macintosh, both used sparsely – perhaps add to the sparsity of her sound? Albeit the nicely produced plate of beats recited (some such jams were a little too extensive to be arresting), the performance melted into reverie through Ward’s doe-eyed, mercury coated voice. Her downtempo, despondent and (almost) chillwave is impressive, yet unobtrusive in its staging.

Chirpy and blithe – Fishing presented an eclectic and somewhat miscellaneous array of gilded electronica. Chronic bass complimented unconventional indie melodies alongside one unique spurt of hip-hop in the midst of the set. The unit are clever in terms of their sampling: layering what appear to be «sounds of the rainforest», with hearty church organs, and simplistic synths to create a lush trinity which, to an extent, was kind of sonically rejuvenating. The versatility of their set and the ambiguity of not knowing what was next is most likely why Fishing have become a pre-requisite as a support band – this isn’t the first occasion on which they have supported the headliner and so have earned their gung-ho claque.

Snakadaktal: illustrious in their harmonious dichotomy of youth and maturity. In their achievement of balance between the acoustic//electronic elements of their music in both their eponymous EP and their recently released debut LP, Sleep In The Water. Notably however, the extended play leaned obviously toward the more raw, acoustic element aspect of their catalogue whereas the album is reverberating, hollow, romantic. Perhaps the LP is guitar centric; but the guitars are not prominent in the context of the constant presence of billowing synth which cling to vocals and guitar and bass, offset only by mellow, dance-inspired drumming patterns.

With this slight yet evident sonic shift in Snakadaktal’s first release to their second, it would be assumed that the same aforementioned layered, fluid, dreamy textures would be transferred to a live setting. Alas they sounded thinned, and not in the diaphanous fashion of the album. The absence of bare-faced synth swimming underneath each section of each song; oscillating calmly through vocals, guitar and bass altered the expected placid vibe. The positioning of songs in the setlist at times was uncoordinated, awkward if you will – no song preempted the next in any way unless it was directly following the album sequence, zigzagging from tender and honest to upbeat and smooth at a pace which was giddy for the most part.

Individually, said songs are performed with a tonic ease. Beginning with Hung On Tight – light yet precise drumming induced a sufficient yet sobering introduction to the remainder of the song; Sean Heathcliff’s chaste vocals candid and round, resting on a backdrop of Phoebe Cockburn’s cherubic oohs and aahs. The songs progressed naturally, gradually and became a manifestation of fragile and steady dulcet tones – the build up,anticipation for that one chord, that one bass line, a change in key, volume… expectation for such is only so well heightened by Snakadaktal. Songs taken from the EP sounded fittingly acoustic – honest and, yes, raw. Airpresented itself to be the motion-stirring tune of the evening with its lyrics delivered by the crowd, who ebbed and flowed with the lucid rendition.

It is undeniable that Snakadaktal are proficient in their instruments. A cover of Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs’ ‘Garden’ was an exquisite choice: the nature of the song – groovy et sublime – for Snakadaktal, was one that allowed them to not only “make it their own”, but make it appear as if they wrote the song.

The band display an exercised and eloquent makeup, especially concerning vocals – sounding like have been naturally filtered through a softly flowing river. Snakadaktal’s casually competent sense of learnedness is humbling. Hopefully, their entire live performance will catch up and develop along with their airy and effusive sound.

Reviewed by Jessica Syed

Photos by Cameron D’Antone more here

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